The best wireless earbuds of 2024 have impressed us so far by packing the best audio tech into teeny-tiny designs. We’ve seen a rise in open-ear designs that let you stay aware of your surroundings, advances in noise-cancelling technologies, and audio excellence that proves that wireless earbuds are here to stay.
In this guide, we’ve rounded up all the biggest launches of 2024 so far, including what we thought of the wireless earbuds in our testing, what bigger trends they reflect, and how these designs could be improved going forward.
Next, we look ahead to which brands we know are releasing new wireless earbuds in the second half of the year, as well as some predictions about what we might see soon and where the super-popular form factor of wireless earbuds is headed.
Whether you’re a hardcore audio tech fan or just considering picking up a pair of wireless earbuds, this guide will give you a temperature check of the highlights so far – and what’s around the corner…
Wireless earbuds in 2024: What were the biggest launches this year so far?
We’ve tested so many wireless earbuds in the past six months that it’s hard to know where to start. But where better to start our roundup than with a pair of incredible earbuds that sound excellent – because that’s the most important thing here, right?
When we first got our hands on the Final ZE8000 MK2 (above), we weren’t convinced by claims that these earbuds deliver 8K sound – but we were wrong. In our last ZE8000 MK2 review , our reviewer wrote: “I genuinely think these are some of the most nuanced, detailed, and best-performing audio you can buy in a set of true wireless earbuds.” If it’s sonic excellence you’re after, also look to the gloriously expansive and agile Cambridge Audio Melomania M100, which boast best-in-class ANC.
We’ve also seen several brands launch earbuds that claim Dolby Atmos sound as their big selling point. If achieving an incredibly powerful and immersive audio experience is a priority for you, then you’ll want to check out the LG Tone Free T90S and the Jabra Elite 10. The latter in particular is a highly successful pair of wireless earbuds, with our Jabra Elite 10 review praising their solid feature set, comfortable fit, and excellent Dolby Atmos performance.
But we know that not everyone needs or has the budget for immersive or audiophile sound. Luckily, we’ve also tested some great mid-range wireless earbuds that still tick all the right boxes.
Our recent Nothing Ear(a) review showed us why we love this cool brand so much. At just $99 / £99 / AU$169, the Nothing Ear(a) are incredibly well equipped, with a sound that we described as “fun, industrious and expansive” in our testing, a great-looking transparent design that Nothing is starting to become known for and top-notch ANC. Nothing has also launched the third generation of its Nothing Ear wireless earbuds. Expect seriously earth-shattering bass, excellent sound personalization and a comfortable fit. Have we mentioned how much we love the Nothing brand yet?
One of the biggest developments in wireless earbuds in 2024 so far is the number of audio tech companies releasing open-ear designs. These are designs that don’t cover your ear, like the best over-ear headphones, or fit inside your ear, like many of the best true wireless earbuds. Instead, these wireless designs use what’s called air conduction technology, placing a small speaker above your ear canal instead.
The design of these earbuds is difficult to get right – there’s nothing to ‘anchor’ them in place – but we’ve tested many of these open-ear designs in our best open-ear headphones guide and highly recommend you to check out our Shokz OpenFit review and Bose Ultra Open Earbuds review for our current top picks.
Wireless earbuds in 2024: what launches can we expect for the rest of the year?
It can be difficult to know what launches to expect in the future, as we typically only hear the biggest news and rumors about the biggest tech brands. That’s why one of the biggest launches we’re expecting in the second half of 2024 comes from Samsung.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro will be the next iteration of Samsung’s flagship wireless earbuds and an upgrade over the already great Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. While Samsung hasn’t said anything official about these earbuds, we expect them to be announced during the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event on July 10, and they’ll offer great high-resolution sound quality with improvements to AI, ANC, and noise cancellation.
Rumors also suggest they could feature a transparent Nothing-like case and long Apple AirPod-like stems. Alongside the Pro version, we’re also expecting a new version of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3. They’re expected to be announced at the same time, as successors to the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2.
Since air conduction technology was hugely popular in the first half of 2024, we can expect that trend to continue in the second half. We predict that several brands will launch open-ear designs, but what we do know for sure is that Beyerdynamic’s first open-ear headphones (above) are coming, promising high-resolution audio quality without shutting you off from the world.
Another trend our spidey senses are noticing is upgrades to the charging cases of our wireless earbuds. Sure, some have built-in features like cleaning technology and even a screen. But this could become more of a thing in the second half of this year.
For example, the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 and Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 earbuds will feature a smart case with Bluetooth LE audio. This means that with a Bluetooth LE audio chip inside the case, you can connect audio sources via the 3.5mm jack on the case. The case itself can then stream audio to the earbuds in your ears.
Finally, expect more and more buttons to integrate AI in interesting and innovative (and perhaps in some cases completely unnecessary) ways. The Iyo One (above), a pair of wireless earbuds coming our way later this year, claims to be “the first audio computer,” which includes real-time language translation, guides you through workouts, life organization, and audio features like spatial audio, head tracking, and AI -improved voice amplification. But hang in there.
While the Iyo One is certainly interesting, plenty of other brands are doing things with AI. For example, Apple will bring Apple Intelligence to products including the AirPods later this year. And some other companies are already combining earbuds with AI, like the way Nothing is doing interesting things with the Nothing Ear integration with ChatGPT.
As with every product category, the challenge will be to determine whether AI actually improves our experience with our wireless earbuds, or whether it just makes things more complicated to slap “AI” on the box. Expect to see a little of both as we head into the second half of 2024.